Line 2 (Toronto Subway)
The Bloor-Danforth line is the main east-west subway line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. It has 31 stations and is 26.2 km (16.3 miles) in length. It opened in 1966, and extensions at both ends were completed in 1968 and again in 1980. It is also numbered as Route 2 (formerly route 602), but its route number is used only for internal purposes and is not shown on public maps or signs. The 300 Bloor-Danforth bus provides late night service when the subway is not in operation. This service operates frequently from along Bloor and Danforth between Islington and Warden. Some trips extend from Islington to Pearson Airport, providing late night service in the place of the 192 Airport Rocket. Service is provided east of Warden and Bloor via the 302 Danforth Rd-McCowan bus service, though not near the Bloor-Danforth Line stations east of Victoria Park. Bus service is extended on Sundays because the subway starts at 9:00 am instead the usual 6:00 am start. History There was much debate in the 1950s over where the second Toronto subway line would run. There were many advocates for it to run under Queen Street while others supported Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue. Due to the large amount of growth in that area, and the prophetically available rail deck under the Prince Edward Viaduct, the second option was constructed. Before the subway was built, the TTC operated streetcars from Jane Street in the West, to Luttrell Avenue (west of Victoria Park Avenue) using paired PCC streetcars or multiple units (MUs) from 1950 to the subway line opening in 1968. The original Bloor-Danforth line was built in 1966, going under Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue from Keele station in the west to Woodbine station in the east. Construction was already in progress to extend the Bloor-Danforth line in both directions, and these extensions opened simultaneously in 1968, to Islington Station in the west and Warden Station in the east. Until its abolition in 1973, the five stations from Old Mill and Victoria Park outward then formed an anomaly in the TTC's zone fare system, being treated as part of the central Zone 1. In 1980, the line was extended once again, to the current termini of Kipling station in the west end and Kennedy station in the east. Stations The line has its western terminus near Kipling Avenue and Bloor Street West. Going east for twelve kilometers along Bloor, it meets the Yonge-University-Spadina line at Spadina, St. George, and Yonge stations. Two kilometres further on Bloor East, crossing the Prince Edward Viaduct, it continues just north of Danforth Avenue for six more kilometres before turning northeast for the final five kilometres, ending at Kennedy station (near Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue) which is also the southern terminus of the Scarborough RT. Most of the line is underground, with exceptions noted below; most of the tunnel is cut-and-cover, but some is bored. The line generally does not run under Bloor Street or Danforth Avenue themselves, but is offset to the north: in some areas it runs under parks and parking lots behind the businesses on the north side of the street, while other sections run under side streets. All stations except Chester connect to surface TTC bus and/or streetcar routes either by transfer or fare-paid terminal. Other surface and train connections are noted below. Name Opening Year Interchange Bloor-Danforth line Kipling 1980 GO Transit Islington 1968 Mississauga Transit Royal York 1968 Old Mill 1968 Jane 1968 Runnymede 1968 High Park 1968 Keele 1966 Dundas West 1966 GO Transit (Bloor), 504 King, 505 Dundas Lansdowne 1966 Dufferin 1966 Ossington 1966 Christie 1966 Bathurst 1966 511 Bathurst Spadina 1966 Yonge-University Spadina, 510 Spadina St. George 1966 Yonge-University Spadina Bay 1966 Bloor-Yonge 1966 Yonge-University Spadina Sherbourne 1966 Castle Frank 1966 Broadview 1966 504 King, 505 Dundas Chester 1966 Pape 1966 Donlands 1966 Greenwood 1966 Coxwell 1966 Woodbine 1966 Main Street 1968 GO Transit (Danforth), 506 Carlton Victoria Park 1968 Warden 1968 Kennedy 1980 Scarborough RT, GO Transit (Kennedy) Extension/expansion potential Although there are currently no plans to extend this subway in either direction, various plans have been considered in the past. The TTC's Rapid Transit Expansion Study (RTES) identified the extension of this line as a low priority. As per Exhibits ES-14 and ES-15 in the RTES, possible extensions beyond the current western terminus included: * East Mall * Sherway Gardens (or West Mall) * Dixie GO Station (in Mississauga) * Cawthra (in Mississauga) * Cooksville GO Station (in Mississauga) * Mississauga City Centre In October 2005, a number of Toronto politicians began a campaign to expand the line northeastward as an alternative for the Scarborough RT, which is heavily used and under constant repair, and to study the viability of this alternative. As of August 2006, this campaign was ended, when Scarborough councillors agreed to support plans to refurbish the existing RT and pursure other RT and LRT options for Scarborough Possible Scarborough RT integration stations: (From Kennedy Station) * Lawrence East * Scarborough Town Centre * Markham (Sheppard Ave East/Markham Rd) See also *Toronto subway and RT References External links *Stand Up Scarborough - Volunteer Group Petitioning for the Subway Expansion